I have not seen the movie, but I have enjoyed hearing people's takes. And yours has been my favorite thus far! Very interesting.
Michael Knowles said he believes that Greta Gerwig intended the movie to be perceived on multiple levels simultaneously. (I have never read James Joyce, but that is what I hear about his work—that it is happening on multiple levels all at once.) I did not get the impression that Knowles believed that to be a mechanism for pleasing everyone at once, so much as that Gerwig really did want it to be layered and thus not cartoonishly one-dimensional.
What do you think the primary effect of the film will be on children? It's one thing for savvy adults like you and Knowles to perceive all these layers, but what is the surface message that a kid is going to take away (if any)?
That's interesting—I hadn't considered that this multi-dimensional aspect of the movie might have been intended to provoke thought rather than to please audiences. (Perhaps this was an example of the film's 'Rorschach test' tendencies working on me.)
It seems that the caveat with this type of story (which introduces lots of different viewpoints without picking a side) is that due to confirmation bias, it's unlikely to persuade people to think critically about their opinions.
However, I'm not sure if this would be the case with children. Their opinions are not as rigid as adults'. It's very possible that perceptive children will go into the movie and see all of the layers, simply because they haven't been primed to see one and reject the others. It's also very possible that, since they aren't as well-versed in the 'politics' surrounding the movie, they'll just see a movie about a doll.
In the latter case, it's very possible that one 'subliminal message' will stick out amongst the cacophony and influence their opinions going forward (even though they probably won't ever relate this effect back to Barbie). If this is the case, I suppose it might be different for each child, just as it is for each adult.
It's an interesting question, and I guess only time will tell. Thanks for your comment!
You have your takeaways, of course, so perhaps there was some Rorschach effect upon you, but all in all, I thought your take was pretty nuanced.
As far as the kids go…I hope that some do get a good message from it. Given how susceptible especially girls are proving to be to woke messaging, I worry for them!
I have not seen the movie, but I have enjoyed hearing people's takes. And yours has been my favorite thus far! Very interesting.
Michael Knowles said he believes that Greta Gerwig intended the movie to be perceived on multiple levels simultaneously. (I have never read James Joyce, but that is what I hear about his work—that it is happening on multiple levels all at once.) I did not get the impression that Knowles believed that to be a mechanism for pleasing everyone at once, so much as that Gerwig really did want it to be layered and thus not cartoonishly one-dimensional.
What do you think the primary effect of the film will be on children? It's one thing for savvy adults like you and Knowles to perceive all these layers, but what is the surface message that a kid is going to take away (if any)?
That's interesting—I hadn't considered that this multi-dimensional aspect of the movie might have been intended to provoke thought rather than to please audiences. (Perhaps this was an example of the film's 'Rorschach test' tendencies working on me.)
It seems that the caveat with this type of story (which introduces lots of different viewpoints without picking a side) is that due to confirmation bias, it's unlikely to persuade people to think critically about their opinions.
However, I'm not sure if this would be the case with children. Their opinions are not as rigid as adults'. It's very possible that perceptive children will go into the movie and see all of the layers, simply because they haven't been primed to see one and reject the others. It's also very possible that, since they aren't as well-versed in the 'politics' surrounding the movie, they'll just see a movie about a doll.
In the latter case, it's very possible that one 'subliminal message' will stick out amongst the cacophony and influence their opinions going forward (even though they probably won't ever relate this effect back to Barbie). If this is the case, I suppose it might be different for each child, just as it is for each adult.
It's an interesting question, and I guess only time will tell. Thanks for your comment!
You have your takeaways, of course, so perhaps there was some Rorschach effect upon you, but all in all, I thought your take was pretty nuanced.
As far as the kids go…I hope that some do get a good message from it. Given how susceptible especially girls are proving to be to woke messaging, I worry for them!